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The Senators need one more comeback to complete the hat trick -- and to become complete.

They need Jason Spezza in the lineup, and while he's nowhere near that point just yet, there has been some movement.

Coach Paul MacLean confirmed whispers that his star centre -- out since back surgery in February -- has recently returned to the ice. It's a small step, but a step nonetheless.

"He's been skating, but he's at the public skating stage, really," said MacLean, and by that he means going easy, not doing laps to music while holding hands with his wife Jennifer. "It's significant because he's started to skate, but it's public skating, really."

While Jared Cowen and Erik Karlsson have already returned from injuries the team said would keep them sidelined until next season, Spezza's story is a mysterious one. Originally, the best-case scenario had him missing 6-8 weeks. That was 12 weeks ago.

Spezza did try to skate a while ago, but suffered a setback. Most recently, the only time he is spotted by media at Scotiabank Place is in the hallways, on his way to the gym, or in the press box watching games.

Meanwhile, it's not like MacLean has his fingers crossed waiting for Spezza to resume practising.

"It's much with Jared and Erik, we weren't hoping," said MacLean. "I basically wait until they come in and say they're ready to play. or they're ready to practise. I don't really sit around hoping and hoping anything is going to happen. I like knowing way better. And until I know Jason is going to start to practise with the team and play with the team, it doesn't even concern me.

"I know that might be cold, but I'm only concerned with the guys who are available to me and who we can put on the ice to win a game."

MacLean says there's not a "set number" of practices Spezza has to participate in before playing a game.

"We didn't say Jared and Erik had to practise three times before they had to play, or three weeks," he said. "But one thing I'll say about Jared and Erik and Milan (Michalek) for that matter, they spent significant time skating with (assistant coach) Jason Smith and (skating coach) Mark Power before they even started to practise with the team. They were skating a significant amount before they started to practise with us, so they were ready to step in and practise with us. The skating they actually did was way longer than the time they spent with the team, before they played."

And Spezza is not near that stage.

"He's just at the public skating part," said MacLean. "He's not even close to joining the team, I don't think."

That doesn't mean things won't change, either. The one thing you should know by now about the Senators and their injury updates: they tend to err on the side of caution.

KING KARL

Any concern about how Karlsson and his lower leg would respond to such a heavy workload Thursday was alleviated by his Twitter posting a good night sleep later. "What a morning. Banana pancakes and coffee, thank u wifey:)." ... At the rink, after participating in full practice, a gleaming Karlsson told reporters he's not quite 100%. "If I'm walking in my shoes on a regular floor, it's usually pretty good, but steps (are) tougher," he said. "I'm still not as comfortable skating." ... Karlsson didn't have a tough time getting back into his pre-game routine Thursday. "I didn't have much routine to start with," he said smiling. "So it wasn't that hard to get back into it." ... As for the early review on the Kevlar socks he wore for the first time Thursday, Karlsson said: "The socks I had before were really comfortable. These are not the same, but the socks, it doesn't really matter what you wear. I can play bare feet if I have to." It worked for Bobby Orr.

THIS AND THAT

The number of Twitter followers for Karlsson had passed 35,000 in the first day and a half. Daniel Alfredsson, who signed up after Thursday's game, was at 18,000 in about 22 hours. "It's a good form for me to get out to the fans in a different way, and also learn more about the technology that my kids are going to use in a few years," Alfredsson said. "I can't believe there are so many people that read it right away, and that quick. I guess that's today's age. Pretty amazing." ... Getting through all the injuries like they did during the season could help the Senators in the playoffs, MacLean believes.

"At some point in time you're going to face adversity again, whether it's in Game 1 or Game 2 of the first round. You're going to face adversity and you're going to have to be able to overcome it," he said. "If you haven't gone through it, it's a difficult thing. It's got teams off the rail that were significant teams, who faced adversity then they get off the rails and they end up getting beat out. That happens a lot. So we feel what our team has done this year, what they've achieved, makes them a stronger group. And a much more difficult opponent, when it comes to playoffs and being able to overcome adversity in a game or within a series."